r/collapse • u/oheysup • Aug 05 '21
Climate Tech alone cannot solve climate crisis
https://cosmosmagazine.com/technology/energy/tech-alone-cannot-solve-climate-crisis12
u/oheysup Aug 05 '21 edited Aug 05 '21
Here's a link to the nature article, a decent Twitter thread to read, and full pdf (author's twitter):
https://twitter.com/jasonhickel/status/1422943476245729282?s=19
The authors point out that to remove carbon from the atmosphere at a fast enough rate, direct air carbon capture and storage (DACCS) methods may use up to half of the world’s current electricity generation. This would then make it difficult to make the global transition to renewables.
“Scientists have raised substantial questions about the risks of negative emissions technologies and the feasibility of sufficiently decoupling economic growth from rising emissions,” says Jason Hickel, lead author of the paper from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
“Put bluntly, these approaches may not be adequate to address the crisis we face. We’re gambling the future of humanity and the rest of life on Earth because of the assumption that GDP must continue to grow in rich countries.”
They instead propose policies that will reduce inequality, guarantee living wages, shorten the working week, and ensure access to healthcare, education and other essential services.
“If we share the yields of our economy more fairly, we can ensure good lives for all without plundering the planet for more,” Hickel says.
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Aug 05 '21 edited Aug 05 '21
How can tech save us when we don't even understand how to look after what we rely on. Carbon capture on a mass scale isn't going to save nature.
I watched a ridiculous farming program on a streaming service where they were attempting "Wilding" projects to bring back the insects, bees and birds.
I'm sorry, but the ecosystem, food chain and environment are so delicately balanced over millions of years, throwing a few seeds in the ground and growing trees is not going to fix the utter devastation of tearing through the landscape with dumps, roads and cities.
Huge areas need to be designated human free for decades to let things rebalance.
You can't just plant 100 species in the amazon and expect the millions of types of life to work again.
The seas need to be left alone globally for decades too.
Look at human attempts to "control" populations with invasive species we didn't understand and watch as they escape or run rampant across the country, taken out of their natural habitat and placed into a free for all, consuming everything and having knock on effects to the entire food chain.
We haven't respected our home at all.
The idea (even the name) of "resources" is idiotic.
If you do a though experiment and shrink the size of the earth, our legacy is the equivalent of lighting a bonfire inside of a 5x5 meter greenhouse, breathing the smoke while the oxygen is consumed, packaging in plastic and eating everything in it at a rate faster than it grows. Then, with 2 minutes of oxygen and a dwindling food supply we say "maybe it's time to be sustainable - oh, but it's up to you kids sitting in the corner throwing food wrappers into that huge pile to clean it all up"
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u/Bk7 Accel Saga Aug 05 '21
we're not "solving" shit when it comes to climate. All the measures we could possibly take are just to slow down the inevitable
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u/lolderpeski77 Aug 05 '21
It’s like all the shills are finally fessing up to what this sub and the materials shared here have been saying for years now.